Couldn't resist; song meme remix

[ctate]

This one isn't random: it's a loosely themed playlist, drawn from tracks I have available on this machine. Speculation as to the theme is welcome; it was hard to come up with many really good exemplars....

(Again, each line presents a snippet of lyrics from a song. When someone guesses the song & artist, I'll strike it out and indicate who guessed. Some are quite popular, some are more obscure.)

1. she said "i've swallowed a secret burning thread...." guessed by jlsgaladriel
   
2. when did Mötley Crüe become classic rock? guessed by lpsmith
   
3. tv dinners for one at the captain's table guessed by lpsmith
   
4. went to school and i was very nervous guessed by storme
   
5. no hell below us, above us only sky guessed by jlsgaladriel
   
6. i wish that they'd swoop down in a country lane, late at night when i'm driving guessed by storme
   
7. people in every direction, no words exchanged guessed by ceo
   
8. two men say they're Jesus -- one of them must be wrong! guessed by ceo
   
9. with the lights out it's less dangerous guessed by jackbishop
   
10. thirty dollars pays your rent guessed by od_mind
    
11. a hundred billion castaways looking for a home guessed by palmwiz
    
12. when everybody loves me i'm gonna be just about as happy as i can be is Counting Crows, "Mr. Jones," guessed off-LJ by DorianX
    
13. 'cause i'm still feeling lonely, feeling so unholy guessed by nothings
    
14. i have kissed honeyed lips guessed by jackbishop
    
15. take a jumbo across the water guessed by jackbishop
    
16. i've been wondering lately just who's gonna save me guessed by paulobrian
    
17. no bangs, no yells; merely the sea - K's Choice, "Mr. Freeze"
    

Three of the tracks I have are covers of the originals; bonus kudos for guessing which tracks and/or who the cover artist is.

Update: Last track unguessed; answer provided. Am I the only person on earth (besides my Dutch cow orker) who likes this band? joenotcharles guessed the theme in comments.